


Making New Traditions

by LostButterflyUtau



Category: Elena of Avalor (Cartoon)
Genre: Baking, Esteban being Esteban, Found Family, Gen, Mentions of Gabela, Navidad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:14:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28308096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostButterflyUtau/pseuds/LostButterflyUtau
Summary: Ever since she came to live at the palace, baking with the family that had taken her in had been a fun hobby for Carla, and one she was eager to indulge in during her first "true" Navidad there. Unfortunately, Esteban seems to take issue with her presence. She does her best to ignore him, but when tensions rise due to comments he makes, both of them find that there's much more to both the concept of family and each others' lives.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'd just like to thank anyone that had a part in helping me with this fic -- even if I had to tell a few little white lies to keep it a secret surprise. And a special thanks to my beta for not only the editing, but offering suggestions throughout.

“Remember, turn and fold. _Gently_ ,” Luisa said, carefully demonstrating the motion while Esteban looked over her shoulder. “Then once you’re done, I need you to fill one tray and set the rest aside for the chocolate drizzle.”

He nodded, turned back to the pot as she headed over to where Elena was measuring and mixing various ingredients with Isabel’s help. Since Elena had admitted more than once to not being the best at baking on her own, she followed her younger sister’s instructions exactly as she read them out of Luisa’s recipe book.

“Okay, once we each have our bowls mixed together, we’ll combine them,” Isabel read and set the book down. She then turned to her set of pre-measured liquid ingredients and double-checked the amounts before pouring them into a bowl, the sight earning a smile from her grandmother.

“Good teamwork you two,” She praised, giving each of the young women a proud look and then glancing over at where her husband was setting out decorations. Well, most of the decorations.

She raised an eyebrow at the neatly arranged frosting ingredients and food colouring in the corner of the counter and then turned back around, scanned the kitchen one more time before she realised that something – or rather, _someone_ – was missing.

“Where’s Carla?” She asked, looked towards Elena.

Elena stopped stirring for a moment. “I haven’t seen her since breakfast.”

“I thought you said you’d tell her about us baking together this afternoon.”

“And I was going to, but then Esteban said he’d tell her during their lesson,” Elena said, gestured towards her cousin with the spoon in her hand.

Though he wasn’t facing them, Esteban could feel their eyes on his back, all of them waiting for an explanation that he didn’t have. He hadn’t considered that anyone would notice Carla’s absence given that she had never done this with them before, but now that they had, he couldn’t tell them the truth.

He thought quickly, took in a silent breath before saying, “She said she had plans. Something about needing to buy a new outfit for a Mirror World party.”

“Oh,” Luisa muttered, unable to help the way her shoulders slumped at hearing his words. While she knew that Carla’s Mirror World friends were important and that looking at dresses was one of favourite things, she couldn’t help the small pang in her heart at the fact that Carla would choose shopping over family, especially during a holiday.

Still, she stood straight, took a place next to Francisco. “I guess I’ll do her part then,” She said and reached for the frosting recipe she’d left next to the ingredients, making sure to still keep her eyes on the rest of the family as they worked through their assigned tasks.

Elena and Isabel combined their respective bowls and diligently stirred them to make the cookie dough while Esteban finished off the small pot of chocolate and stepped over to the side to grab the mould, the tray immediately slipping from his fingers when a familiar, feminine voice crossed his ears.

“What are you all doing?” Carla asked when she stepped into the kitchen, her gaze quickly moving over the room as she took in the sights and smells of her chosen family making various sweet treats without her. While it wasn’t wholly uncommon for one of them to be doing so with Abuela, seeing everyone together in the kitchen was a new sight for her, even at Navidad time. 

“I could ask you the same question,” Luisa said, pointing to the smaller woman with her spoon.

Carla gave her a confused look, explained, “I just wanted a snack. I was in the library studying and – ”

“Wait,” Elena interrupted. “We thought you were at the market.” 

“Esteban said that you said you needed a party dress,” Isabel said when she caught the way Carla’s eyebrow rose at the statement.

“But I already picked out a dress when I visited Anna last week,” Carla said, shooting Elena a look. “You were there, remember?” 

Luisa’s eyes first narrowed and then cut over to her grandson. Now that Carla had reminded them all that she had visited the Mirror World the week prior, she not only recalled Elena moving her schedule around to go with her, but also how Carla had told her about the new dress that night at dinner and how excited she was for the party – which was being held the following evening.

“Then _why_ did Esteban say you were shopping?” Francisco asked.

“Yes, _why_?” Luisa asked, fixated her eyes on Esteban, who immediately tensed up upon feeling the weight of her gaze on his back.

He turned around slowly, his mind reeling as he tried to come up with a plausible-sounding explanation. “Because…” He started and trailed off, tugging at his cravat as if it were choking him.

Carla crossed her arms, eyes narrowing as she watched him. It was one thing to maybe _forget_ to tell her that everyone was supposed to be baking, it was _another_ to have actively lied to the family about what she was doing. That told her he’d purposely withheld the information.

“I guess I – I – Just got your schedule mixed up,” Esteban finally spat out, a new wave of guilt coming over him at the way Carla’s foot started tapping impatiently on the floor. He’d had enough lessons with her to know what it meant.

“You have no idea what my schedule is aside from our lessons,” Carla pointed out, her tone as even as she could make it under the circumstances.

“All I remember is that you mentioned dress shopping once. I just got the days mixed up.”

Carla’s stance didn’t soften. In fact, her scowl deepened at what she thought was a lame excuse for leaving her out.

“See? It was just an honest mistake,” Francisco said, though he didn’t quite believe that was the case. Something about his grandson seemed off, but he figured it would be best to ask about it later in private, especially when they had treats to make. “And now that you’re here, we’d love for you to join us, _Cariña_.”

Carla didn’t move, kept her eyes on Esteban as she asked, “Are you sure about that?”

Luisa stepped out from behind the counter and over to where the aprons were hung. She pulled one off the hook and made her way to Carla’s side. “Of course, we are. You can take over the frosting while I get the cakes set up.”

Despite still being annoyed about the Esteban situation, Carla couldn’t help but smile at the warm look in Abuela’s eyes as she uncrossed her arms and let the tension settle. She went to reach for the apron but was stopped when Luisa moved behind her, carefully slipped it over her head and then tied the back.

“I already started mixing the ingredients, you just need to mix it for a little longer and then portion it out for dyeing,” Luisa explained as Carla followed her back around and listened while she pointed out where she’d stopped on the recipe sheet.

Once Carla confirmed that she understood, the older woman moved to the cold cabinet and pulled out a large sheet cake that she set down on the other end of the table where Elena and Isabel were rolling out sugar cookie dough.

Seeing everyone working together made Carla’s smile widen as she got to work in finishing off the frosting, only looking up when Elena spoke to her.

“Look at you,” She teased lightly. “All those extra hours at the bakery must be paying off.”

“For _them_ ,” Luisa said with a laugh before turning to Carla. “But only because you’re such a good student.”

Carla laughed, reached for one of the portion bowls. “Thanks, Abuela. And it is. The more I do for Señora Nuñez, the more time she has to help me with my gift.”

“How _is_ that going, by the way? There’s only a week until Navidad.”

“I think it’s almost done. I just need a few more portraits to duplicate and the picture part will be done. Then I can focus more on the decorations.”

“What are you making, exactly?” Francisco cut in just before scooping up a few chocolate chips and eating them.

“Abuelo! Those are for decorating, not eating,” Carla scolded and playfully swatted his arm. “And to answer your question, it’s a memory board.”

“A what?”

“A memory board like the one in my room. It’s like a scrapbook but all on one board. It has pictures and decorations and is really sentimental. Gabe’s mom is helping by giving me some childhood pictures to magically duplicate and use.”

Francisco nodded and then frowned when Carla swiped the bowl of chocolate chips away from him after he took a few more. She set it aside, then continued on with her task and explaining her crafting process when Luisa asked as Esteban listened in.

The chancellor frowned as he diligently filled chocolate moulds. He knew it was dumb and probably selfish to have purposefully tried to keep her out of the kitchen – particularly considering that Carla _lived_ with them – but still couldn’t help the nagging feeling in his heart. He didn’t understand. She had spent the previous Navidad with them as well and he’d had no issues then. Then again, that had only been a few days while she was on a school and work break, and because she arrived only two days before Navidad, she’d missed out on this family tradition of baking sweets for local children.

It didn’t make sense. None of Elena’s other friends had been asked to help, yet Luisa had been so eager to have Carla participate. He supposed part of it was because they all had their own families and Carla’s only family was off travelling somewhere. But she also had a whole group of friends in the Mirror World she could be spending time with. His frown deepened at the thought of why she wasn’t doing so. Surely Anna and her sister or Belle or someone else could use her company.

He sighed to himself, turned to take the now-filled tray to the cold closet and was stopped in his tracks when he rammed into someone. He then heard a squeak, followed by first a soft thud and then a loud clang as the tray slipped from his hand to the ground, the liquid chocolate splashing onto the tile. 

Esteban looked down, intending to help whoever it was he ran into until he saw Carla sitting on the floor, his concern immediately turning to annoyance. She hadn’t been anywhere near him a few moments ago – nor did she need to be since they were working on separate tasks – yet here she was in his way.

“Watch where you’re going!” He snapped. “What were you doing there anyway?”

“I was just trying to get an extra bowl,” Carla replied, rubbed at the sore spot on her backside from where she’d fallen after tripping backwards. “Ow.”

Luisa rushed over. “Oh, _Mi Querida,_ are you okay?”

Carla nodded, took the hand that she offered. “I’m fine. A little sore, but fine.”

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Esteban simply knelt down to pick up the tray, taking one of the rags Isabel held out when she stepped over with a small water bucket. He glanced up, watched while his grandmother looked Carla up and down a few times before the smaller woman gently pushed her hands away.

“I’m fine, Abuela. Really.”

“I’m just making sure,” Luisa said, brushed her hand over Carla’s violet skirt once more.

“You know she worries sometimes,” Elena commented.

“Especially after that nasty fall you had during magic lessons.”

Carla groaned. “That was two weeks ago! And it was just a scraped elbow.”

“Still, you need to be more careful, _Mijita_.”

Carla sighed, playfully rolled her eyes, and said in a mocking tone, “Yes, Abuela.”

“And don’t you take that tone with me, young lady,” Luisa teased, ending the statement with a light touch to Carla’s nose that made her giggle and Esteban frown again.

He remembered the mentioned day very clearly. It had been nice enough that he and Luisa decided to have their music session out in the garden. They had both been learning a new song and it was going well until Carla showed up with a bloody scrape and look of injured pride. Of course, Luisa had sprung up to help her and though it didn’t take more than fifteen minutes or so for her to walk off, patch Carla up and come back, he had still been annoyed at having _their_ special time together interrupted for something so trivial. Carla was more than capable of either handling herself or finding someone else to help. Not that it mattered now. That was over and done with. What _did_ matter was the extra attention she was getting during what was supposed to be _family_ time.

“You okay?” Isabel asked, her voice breaking through Esteban’s thoughts.

“Hm? Oh. I’m fine. Thank you for helping,” He replied, returning the rag to the bucket as they both stood, her with the water and him with the tray that he set on the counter.

Isabel shrugged, dumped the water into the sink. “No problem.”

Esteban gave her a small smile before returning to his post and picking up a clean mould tray from the shelf. Like with the first, he filled it carefully, only stopping to cut his eyes over in Luisa’s direction when Carla spoke again.

“What are you doing with those?” She asked Luisa, carefully stirred food dye into one of her portioned-out bowls, her own eyes glancing over to Francisco every so often to make sure he was _colouring_ the frosting and not eating it.

“With what? This?” Luisa said, placed her hand on the bowl of scraps that Carla was looking at. The remnants of her cutting and shaping the larger cake into smaller sections.

Carla nodded, gave the frosting another hard stir.

“We usually give them to the Jaquins,” Isabel explained, handing her sister a star-shaped cookie cutter when she motioned for it.

“I guess that’s better than wasting it, but I have a better idea.”

 _‘Of course you do,’_ Esteban thought to himself, picked up the now filled tray and, after checking behind him, made his way to the cold closet.

“Why don’t you make them into cake pops?”

At that, everyone stopped, set down their tools and gave Carla the same curious look.

“Cake… pops?” Isabel asked, tilted her head slightly. 

Carla nodded. “I learned in the Mirror World. You mix the extra cake with some frosting and roll these little balls you can dip in chocolate and decorate with sprinkles and cookie pieces and whatever else you want.”

As soon as she realised what Carla was talking about, Elena perked up. “I remember now! Every time we visit, we buy some from Anna’s family’s shop.”

“We used to make them together for slumber parties. It was our favourite part of the night.”

Luisa smiled at the way Carla’s eyes lit up when she talked. Given that she had several portraits of her friends and what seemed like an endless number of stories to tell during their special time, she had known for a while how important those girls were to her granddaughter of choice and how much they had taught her alongside Elena. She had come such a long, long way from the manipulative thief that first showed up at the palace three years prior.

“Sounds like fun,” Francisco said.

“More like sounds like a new treat for you to eat,” Luisa teased her husband, who swiped a finger full of frosting into his mouth.

“But cake pops aren’t part of the list,” Esteban said in that matter-of-fact tone that always made Carla roll her eyes. “We’re making cookies, chocolate and cake to give away, just like always.”

“We can make them for just us, then,” Elena suggested. “There’s not really enough to add to children’s sweets.”

“Then we’d be taking away time that could be used for their treats, which are far more important if you ask me.”

“Or,” Carla interrupted. “We could consider this a test batch. If they turn out alright, we could make more for the Navidad festival. Maybe even set up a table for kids to decorate their own so they won’t be bored while their parents are dancing.”

It was something she’d thought about a lot during festival planning this year, both after seeing the advertisements for the cookie-decorating activity that Gabe’s parents were hosting that weekend and hearing how, as great as the first festival was the year before, some of the kids had been a little bored. At first, she wanted to do it with cookies, but now that cake pops were an option, she thought it could be something fun and different that Luisa would probably love hosting – at least for a bit. She deserved to dance too.

“That’s a _great_ idea!” Francisco said, his smile turning down when Carla slid the big frosting bowl out of his reach before he could sneak another taste. 

“And I’m sure we could find plenty of people willing to help out if we ask,” Elena said, thinking about how she was sure both Mateo and Gabe’s mothers would be willing to lend a hand for a bit.

Carla nodded. “We can set it up in small shifts so those who want to help can do so without missing the whole party. At least, that’s what we used to do for holidays at the boutique. Everyone would agree to rotate who got which holiday so everyone had a chance to spend time with family.”

Esteban stopped, looked from Carla, to Elena and Isabel, to Luisa and back again as they all continued to chat about this “great idea” of Carla’s. He had to admit that it wasn’t a bad one. But even thinking that, he knew it would still add even more to the already loaded schedule for the festival. There were decorations to hang, magical lights to set up, refreshments to make and a hundred other things. The staff had enough to do without the addition of this new activity. And, beyond that, seeing the way they took so quickly to her idea made his temper flare all over again. This was meant to be a _familia_ tradition. The focus was supposed to be on making sweets for the local children, not fawning over Carla as if she and her life were the most important things in the room.

“It’s going to be so fun!” Elena exclaimed, her voice cutting right through Esteban’s thoughts.

He stepped forward, snapped, “Just wait a minute! That’s not part of the plan either! The staff have enough to do without worrying about setting _that_ up!”

Carla huffed, gripped her spoon harder as she snapped back, “Then I’ll do it myself!”

It took everything in her not to throw the entire bowl of red frosting at him. It was bad enough that he’d purposefully kept her out of this activity, but she could have forgotten that if it weren’t for the way he’d been behaving towards her the whole time. From the annoyed looks he shot her, to how he’d reacted when he knocked her over to the way he wanted to put down all of her ideas, it all made her want to scream. All she had wanted to do was _help_. To give back to and feel included in the family that had graciously taken her in and treated her as one of their own. She didn’t deserve his ire. Not this time. 

Esteban rolled his eyes at her attitude. He didn’t understand why she had to be so ornery all the time. “That’s not the point, Miss Delgado. The point is that it’s not part of the plan!”

“Elena’s Navidad Festival idea wasn’t part of the plan until last year and everyone loved it!” Carla pointed out, slammed her spoon on the counter. “You just don’t like it because _I_ came up with it! You are such a child!”

“And _you’re_ in the way!” He spat back, unable to keep the thought inside any longer.

“ _Esteban_!” Luisa scolded.

Realising he’d made a mistake, he quickly tried to explain, “It’s just that this has always been a _familia_ tradition and she, well – she’s _not_ familia.”

The moment the words were out of his mouth, he knew he’d messed up terribly. Everyone gasped except for Carla, who stood silent for a moment before slowly untying her apron and then setting it on the counter, her face as neutral as she could make it as she headed towards the door.

“Carla, wait!” Elena said, quickly making her way around the table and grabbing her friend’s wrist just as she crossed the doorway.

“It’s fine,” Carla muttered, forcibly pulled her arm out of Elena’s grasp. “I have plans anyway.” 

“Carla!” Elena reached for her again but stopped when she felt a gentle hand on her own shoulder.

“Let her go. She’s going to need some time to cool off,” Luisa said, her gaze as serious as her words. If she had her way, she’d go after Carla herself, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good. She’d spent enough time with Carla to know that when she was hurt, she needed time to process things before being spoken to. Pushing her to talk right away never accomplished anything.

Elena sighed. She knew her Abuela was right. Carla was far more likely to open up if given some time to herself for a bit. She nodded to her and then looked up and narrowed her eyes at her cousin.

Esteban pulled at his cravat again, swallowed at the way Elena fixated her angry gaze on him.   
“Why would you say that?” She asked.

“Well… I – It – It just slipped out,” He said, shoulders slumping when he realised how lame that sounded.

Elena crossed her arms. “It doesn’t matter. It was still uncalled for.”

“You heard her. She said she had plans anyway.”

With another sigh, Elena shifted again, put her hand to her head. “She only said that to not start a bigger fight.”

Luisa stepped forward, set a hand on her grandson’s arm. “You hurt her feelings. She won’t admit it because she’s bad with them, but I could see it in her face. You need to apologise.”

“But – ”

“No. No buts. You’re going to go think about what you said and once you’ve taken some time, I expect an apology.” Luisa held her hand out in a silent command that Esteban obeyed as he pulled his own apron off and handed it over. She watched him slowly make his way out and then gave a small sigh of her own before turning back to the rest of the family.

“Go ahead and finish up the cookies, girls. After they’re done, we’ll put them aside for decorating later.”

Elena and Isabel nodded, proceeded to finish up in silence as Luisa returned to her cake, looking from it to the bowl of scraps and then up when she heard shuffling behind her.

“Should I go talk to him?” Francisco asked, placed both hands on her shoulders.

“No. I’ll talk to him once he cools off,” Luisa said, reached up to cover one of his hands with her own. “Can you talk to Carla in a bit?” 

“Of course, _Mi Amor_ ,” He said, knowing as well as his wife did that letting Carla have some time to herself would work in their favour.

Luisa gave a small smile, gently patted his hand and then moved to grab one of the now smaller cakes, waiting as her husband followed her lead before they both returned their respective trays to the cold closet.

* * *

Sometime later, while the family was tidying up the kitchen, Carla paced Gabe’s office floor, her small heels making angry clicking sounds as she moved back and forth across the room. Once leaving the kitchen, she had decided she didn’t want to be alone and, even though he was swamped with reports at the moment, she knew Gabe would listen. He always did. 

“Just who does he think he is?!” She snapped. “He knows very well that our Abuelos think of me as part of their family. Elena and Isa have never had a problem with it.”

Gabe looked up from his paperwork briefly to see her move from one end of his desk to the other, half his mind on the report he was marking and the other half on what she had been telling him. The fact that she had showed up so soon after the event told him that she was rightfully bothered by it. He couldn’t remember Esteban ever treating her so poorly before. Sure, they butted heads from time to time in her various lessons, but he’d never regarded her as lesser just because she wasn’t bonded to the family by blood.

“He just didn’t like the idea because _I_ came up with it! Everyone else was willing to try it, but he just has to be stubborn. I just – Ugh!”

“Sounds like a fun idea to me,” Gabe said, remembering how she’d described her plan upon first arriving. “I’d even decorate one.”

Carla paused, stopped directly in front of him and put her hand on the desk. “That’s what I’m saying! Everyone thinks it’s a great idea except _him_.” She then removed her hand, made her way over to and flopped down onto his sofa with an annoyed groan. She closed her eyes, took a moment to breathe and then opened them again when she felt the cushion next to her sag down.

“This is about more than that though,” Gabe said, getting a hard sigh in response before Carla let herself fall over, her head resting on his shoulder.

“I told you. He told me I wasn’t _familia_.”

He gave her a small, sympathetic smile, slid his arm around her waist. “Which couldn’t be further from the truth. Your Abuelos love you.”

Carla sighed. “I just want to know what his problem is. He’s been petty before, but this is a whole other level.”

Gabe thought for a moment. She was right that Esteban could be petty at times but telling Carla she wasn’t part of their family was a new low. Still, he knew there had to be something to it. Esteban could be rough around the edges and a bit snobby, but overall wasn’t a jerk. 

He shifted slightly, moved his hand to Carla’s back as his mind suddenly filled with images of all the portraits he had seen on his rounds and how so few of them had included Esteban’s parents. “Elena once told me that his parents died when he was really young. Maybe that has something to do with it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if they were all that he had before he came to the palace, maybe he’s insecure? Remember how hesitant you were when you came to live here?” 

Unfortunately, Carla did remember. Even before she decided to stay permanently, learning to open up and bond with Elena and her family was hard. She remembered thinking so many things were just games they were playing with her because of her past experiences with others. It was the first time she had tried to make real family connections outside of her father and even now, it wasn’t easy. There were still people who liked to point out how Carla “didn’t count” or wasn’t their “real granddaughter” despite being treated as one. And, as hard as she tried to let those things roll off, they still stung. Was it possible that he’d gone through the same thing?

“But if he knows how nasty it feels, why would he do it to someone else?” Carla asked.

“I think you already know the answer,” Gabe replied, gently moving his hand up and down her back as he spoke and hoping that she wasn’t offended.

She let out a long sigh. Of course, she knew the answer. She had spent the better part of her life chasing down magic and power just so she could use it to oppress others the same way she and her father had been oppressed by society. They’d both lied and cheated their way through life for years, not caring who they hurt along the way, all in the name of trying to claw their way up into being respected.

It had taken an accidental visit to another world during a failed heist and an even bigger magical failure for her to realise her mistakes and that, even if she gained all the magic in the world, it wouldn’t cure the loneliness she secretly felt. Making friends and getting a chance to just be a normal teenage girl did that.

“I learned my lesson,” She argued. “Why can’t he?”

“Because it doesn’t happen overnight,” Gabe reminded her.

There was a long pause before Carla admitted, “I’m still mad at him.”

“And you’re allowed to be. What he said was hurtful.” He moved so that he was facing her and set a hand on top of hers. “Don’t let it consume you, though. Focusing too much on your insecurities is never a good idea. Trust me, I learned the hard way.”

“How?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Gabe said, suddenly aware that he’d never actually told her about his stint as ‘El Guapo.’ “Right now, I need to get back to these reports. Maybe you could take a nap or read a book or practice some spells, just something to relax and take your mind off of things for a bit.”

She looked up at him, a certain eagerness in her eyes as she suggested, “Or maybe _we_ could go for a walk? It’s a beautiful day.”

“Didn’t I just tell you I have to work?” He teased.

Her mood shifting just slightly, Carla put on her best pout, asked in a cutesy voice, “You _sure_ you can’t take just a little break?”

He chuckled. “Nice try, Cutie. But if I don’t get this done today, you won’t have a date for the party tomorrow.”

“And I picked out the prettiest dress too,” She said, earning another soft laugh in response before Gabe kissed her head.

“How about this? If I get done on time, we can have dinner on the balcony tonight.” 

Carla smiled, leaned up to give him a quick kiss in agreement and then stood to make her way to the door as he headed back to his desk. She stopped right as she touched the handle, turned back to him.

“Gabe?”

“Hm?” He grabbed his pen, settled into his chair.

“Thanks for listening.”

“Anytime, Cutie,” He replied with an exaggerated wink that made her laugh as she finally pushed the handle down and slipped out the door.

* * *

At the same time Carla was making her way back up to her bedroom from the barracks, Luisa padded down a different corridor. She stopped in front of the cracked door to the music room, gave it a curious look and then leaned in, a small smile forming when she heard a familiar, soft tune coming from behind it. She backed up a step, gently knocked in warning as she slowly opened the door to find her grandson sitting on the piano bench idly strumming one of the family guitars.

“I thought I’d find you here,” Luisa said, crossing the room.

Esteban paused, looked up when he heard her voice. He’d heard her come in but decided to wait and gage what kind of mood she was in before sitting up. After all, she’d been so angry earlier.

She stopped in front of him, gestured to the empty space on the bench. “Can I sit?” 

He nodded, set the guitar aside.

“I’m not going to yell at you,” She reassured, set a hand on his shoulder. “I just want to know what’s going on, _Mijo_. I know you and Carla aren’t each other’s favourite people, but I’ve never seen you act like that towards her.”

He sighed, thought about his word choice for a moment. Having taken time to think about things made him realise how wrong he’d been but putting into words was difficult. After a long silence he sighed again.

“I guess I was just – ” He paused, took a moment to search for the right word, “Jealous.”

Luisa raised a curious eyebrow. “Jealous of what?”

“Of how eager everyone was for her to participate in everything, even our _familia_ traditions. And then she tried to change the traditions that I just got back a few years ago.”

“But she’s not trying to change them. She just wanted to try something new is all. And I don’t remember you complaining when she came to spend Navidad with us last year.”

“That was different. She didn’t live here then. And she was only visiting for a few days.”

As soon as the words were out, Esteban realised how stupid they sounded. In reality, there was no difference. Her living in the palace didn’t change the fact that, for the second year in a row, she didn’t have her father at Navidad, or that all she was trying to do was belong somewhere, just like he was when he was first taken in all those years ago.

Luisa reached down, took one of his hands with a sympathetic smile. “I know these past few months have been a bit of an adjustment between your work and being assigned as Carla’s tutor, but you have to understand that she has a lot on her plate too.”

He scoffed at the idea. “What could _she_ possibly have to do besides a few lessons? She seems to have plenty of time to disappear across the mirror.”

“Homework for those lessons, helping to plan royal events, assisting the guards with training, going on the occasional diplomatic mission, making time for her family and her boyfriend. She does a lot that you don’t see, _Mijo_. You’re not the one tucking her in at two in the morning because she fell asleep at her table designing festival wreaths.” 

“Oh,” Esteban muttered to himself as he slumped forward, rested his head in his hand. He supposed that part of him knew Carla had some kind of work to do on a daily basis, given the number of times he’d seen her with Elena and Naomi in the middle of some kind of planning session, particularly during festival times.

“And between all of that, she worries a lot. She thinks she has a lot to prove and just wants to belong.”

 _‘Just like I do,’_ He thought. Somehow, it had never crossed his mind that Carla would have any kind of insecurities. Then again, she did tend to put up a tough front. Aside from the one time he saw her sick back in September and when she came to Luisa two weeks prior to be patched up, he couldn’t remember ever seeing her as anything but haughty and confident.

“I guess I never thought that she would worry about earning her place too,” He admitted, looking up when he felt Luisa’s other hand start to move up and down his back.

Luisa took in a small breath, explained, “It was never a matter of Carla earning her place. And it was never a matter of you earning yours either. You’re _familia_. We love you.”

“I know.”

“As for Carla, it was a matter of her needing support. The only influence she’d ever had for a long time was her father, and between you and me, while he’s a great father, he’s not exactly the best influence at times. And with him still at large at the time, she didn’t have any parental influences, so we stepped in.”

“Like you did for me. And Elena and Isabel.”

“Exactly. I love her, Esteban. Your Abuelo and I both do. The same way we love you and Elena and Isabel. Just because we let someone else in our hearts, doesn’t mean any of you are getting pushed out. You know we have more than enough love to give.”

Of course he knew that. His Abuelos did so much for both their family and the community, always lending a hand to people when they could whether they were blood related or not, something that crossed over into how they’d taken in a young lady who barely had anything. One who he had hurt for what he now realised were trivial reasons. All she had wanted to do was just be part of the family and their traditions. Traditions that they had always been so open with.

“It’s not wrong to want to hold to family traditions,” Luisa said, her voice breaking through his train of thought. “But you also have to be willing to be flexible sometimes. Like Carla said, Elena’s Navidad Festival wasn’t a tradition before last year and now everyone is looking forward to it. Sometimes, change is good.”

“This is true,” He agreed with a sigh. “And I’m sorry for not seeing all of this before.”

“While I appreciate your apology, it’s not me you have to say sorry to,” Luisa reminded him, her serious gaze conveying the strength behind her words.

Esteban nodded. He knew very well he would have to make time to apologise and explain himself to Carla since she was the one he hurt.

“But how?” He thought aloud, racked his brain for some sort of idea. Just words weren’t going to be enough, not after what he’d said.

Luisa patted his hand. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You and Elena were always great at coming up with creative ways to apologise when you were younger.”

Hearing her say Elena’s name made Esteban sit up from his slumped stance, the gears in his mind turning at both the mention of her and the memories that Luisa’s statement brought up.

 _‘That’s it!’_ He thought. It would take a little bit of help, but he knew now _exactly_ what he had to do.


	2. Chapter 2

As Esteban began the first steps to making sure his plan would be ready by supper time, Francisco finished off the last step of his own plan. Of course, his mission was slightly different.

He smiled at the result, picked up the tray from the counter and headed up, making his way from the kitchen to Carla’s door where he shifted the tray onto one hand and used his free one to knock. He stood for a few moments, frowned when he got no response and knocked again, this time giving a small sigh at the silence as he reached for the handle.

“ _Cariña?_ ” He said, gently pushed the door open. “I’m coming – oh.”

He wasn’t sure what he expected given the silence but smiled when he saw Carla curled up on her bed, the lack of a blanket and the book lying carelessly next to her telling him that she’d dozed off while reading.

“Oh, Carla,” He muttered, shook his head with a laugh as he set his tray down on her tea table. He then stepped over to the bed, carefully picked the book up and placed it on her nightstand with another laugh when he saw the title and realised that she’d picked up one of Luisa’s favourite romances.

Carla made a small noise and curled into herself slightly, but ultimately stayed asleep even as Francisco sat down on the bed and reached over to gently caress her cheek.

“Carla,” He whispered, moved his hand to her shoulder.

She made another noise, her brows furrowing in her sleep as he gave her a gentle shake and she started to register first his touch and then the faint sound of her name. Slowly, she blinked her eyes open, asked once her vision started to clear, “Abuelo?”

“Yes, it’s me,” He confirmed, stood to retrieve the tray while she yawned, stretched, and then sat up.

She delicately rubbed her eyes, glanced up when she heard the familiar movement of dishes.

“You said you were looking for a snack earlier, so I brought one,” Francisco explained, holding the tray out to her.

“Does Abuela know you took some cookies?” She asked, looking down at the two star-shaped sugar cookies topped with the red frosting she had mixed and matching glitter sprinkles.

“Why don’t we just keep that between us?”

Carla giggled, both at his statement and the wink he gave alongside it, carefully took the silver tray out of his hands. “You know I’m not going to be able to eat these alone, right?” She teased, holding back another laugh at the eager look on his face as she handed him the small plate after picking up her cookie.

They ate in silence until Carla picked up her teacup and winced when she caught sight of her reflection in the tray.

“Did I make the tea wrong?” Francisco asked.

“Hm? No. It’s my hair.” Carla reached up to toy with the loose hair coming from her braid.

He watched as she tried and failed to adjust and readjust her hair, her actions and words sparking an idea for how to accomplish both their goals.

“Why don’t I help you with that?”

At that, she stopped and gave him a curious look. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe he – or any man – was incapable of helping her. Being a ‘girl dad,’ her Papa had learned early on how to take care of and brush his daughter’s hair just the way she liked, something she had eventually taught Gabe – who was now fairly adept at the task. And, while they both lacked styling skills, she was grateful for what they could do. Abuelo had never asked before though.

“And what do _you_ know about brushing hair?” She asked.

“Well…” Francisco sat back, pretended to think. “I raised two daughters and have three granddaughters, so I must know _something_.”

 _‘Three?’_ Carla thought, wondering for a moment if there was a family member she’d missed, or if he had made a mistake until she felt his hand settle on her back. She glanced up, returned the warm smile he gave when she realised that _she_ was the third granddaughter.

“So?” He asked.

Carla nodded, took his plate, and then set the tray on the nightstand while he headed over to her vanity and picked her bejewelled hairbrush, turning it over a few times as he returned to the bed.

“I don’t remember this having jewels on it,” He thought aloud, kicked his shoes off. He vaguely remembered Elena giving Carla a new purple brush and Mirror set for her birthday the previous month but couldn’t quite recall the jewels.

“Oh, I did that,” Carla explained, reached up to start the process of untying her hair. “It’s amazing what you can do with some glue and rhinestones.”

He moved to sit behind her. Together, they worked on letting her hair down before he carefully separated it into sections and started gently brushing.

She sighed contentedly as the brush ran over her hair. Something about having someone do this always calmed her, but this time, there was also this nagging feeling in her chest that grew with each soft stroke.

“Abuelo?”

“Yes, _Cariña_?”

“You didn’t come here just to offer cookies and a hair brushing, did you?”

Once he processed the question, he paused, let out a long sigh. “You caught me. I came to talk to you about Esteban.”

“You don’t have to apologise for him, you know,” She said, looking down at her bracelet and resisting the urge to play with it.

“I’m not here to apologise for him. He’ll need to do that himself,” Francisco said, set the brush down so he could use both hands to gently pull apart the tangle he’d found. “But I thought that I could maybe help you understand.”

“Understand what? That he thinks I’m in the way?”

“You’re not in the way. He only said that because, well – ” He trailed off, searched his mind for the proper words. “He’s insecure. You have to understand, Esteban spent 41 years trying to keep this kingdom afloat by himself. I’m sure you know well enough that Shuriki isn’t the best company.”

“She really isn’t,” Carla muttered, remembering how, during her and Victor’s stint with the woman, all she did was order them around. She never said “thank you” for anything and even forbade Carla from _dancing_ without bothering to hear the explanation of why it meant so much to her. Looking back, she wasn’t even sure the woman had intended to keep her promise to turn them into Malvagos.

He picked the brush back up. “Now imagine having _that_ be your only company for 41 years and thinking that your family is gone for good. He did what he had to do to survive, but surviving isn’t living. You know what I mean?”

She bit her lip, nodded. She knew all too well what he meant because it was how she had lived most of her life until turning over a new leaf Mirror World. There, she had learned how to actually _live_ and make real, honest connections with people in a way that contradicted everything she learned growing up. It had taken time to open up, but now that she had done so to a few select people, she regretted nothing.

She opened her mouth to speak but fell silent again when she felt Francisco tense up behind her, a hard tug on her hair making her think otherwise.

Realising his mistake, he immediately pulled the brush away. “Sorry about that, _Mijita_.”

He took in a breath, picked up another section of hair as he continued, “Anyway, once those years with Shuriki came to an end and Esteban did get us back, it wasn’t the same as before. All of us – me, your Abuela and Isabel – we had all been pretty much asleep in the meantime and even Elena didn’t age during her time in that amulet. In many ways, we were all ready to pick up right where we had left off, but he…”

Francisco paused again, gave another hard sigh. “…He’s almost old enough to be our sibling rather than our grandson. He’s even older than Elena’s father was at the time. And, while we love him all the same, it did take some getting used to. His placement in light of all the changes made was so different from ours.”

 _‘Oh,’_ Carla thought, bit her lip as she gave in and toyed with her bracelet. She thought for a minute, tried to put her family in a similar place. How would her father feel if it had been him instead? If he had been trapped somewhere as a younger man and broke free only to find that his daughter was not just a fully grown woman, but one near his own age and how much they both would have missed out on?

“Carla?” Francisco asked when she had been silent for a while, setting the brush down for a second time when he saw her reach up and wipe her eyes with a soft sniff.

“I’m not crying!” She lied, rubbed her eye again and then glanced up when she felt his arms settling around her.

He gave her a gentle hug. “It’s a lot to think about, isn’t it?”

Carla nodded, admitted. “You know, Gabe said something similar about him being insecure,”

“He did?”

“Of course, he doesn’t know all the details, but when I went to see him earlier, he told me I should remember how hesitant I was when I first came to live here and wasn’t sure of my place. I guess I never thought to also think about how lonely Esteban might feel after all those years.”

Francisco smiled, made a mental note to thank Gabe later. “It’s more than just loneliness. Like I said, while we were mostly ready to pick up where we left off, we all knew things had changed. But, the things that didn’t, like our family traditions, meant so much to us. Especially Esteban.”

“And I got in the way of that.”

“No, you didn’t,” He reassured as he let her go, carefully ran his fingers through her hair one last time to check for missed knots. “We all wanted you there, especially Luisa. You should have seen how upset she looked when Esteban told us you’d gone shopping. I think he’s just a little protective of certain things, and because he’s not so good with his feelings, it can come out wrong.”

“Well, what he said was _definitely_ wrong.”

“Yes, it was. And I want you to know that we _love_ you, _Mijita_. You are very much a part of our family, no matter what Esteban says when he’s mad.”

Carla smiled and then shifted, turned around in her spot to wrap her arms around Francisco. “Thanks, Abuelo.”

He patted her back, waited until she was ready to pull away and took her hand. “I also want you to know that I didn’t tell you all of this to justify what he did. Like I said, Esteban will have to realise his mistake himself. I just wanted you to maybe understand a bit better and while you don’t have to forgive him, I would like it if, when he does apologise, you listen. That’s all I ask.”

“Okay. I’ll try,” She replied honestly, gave his hand an affirming squeeze.

“Now, about your hair. Did you want help putting it back up?”

Carla blinked, took a second to realise what he’d asked. Once she did, she started playing with one of the strands as she considered her options. “Actually, I think I’ll leave it down. Gabe said that we might have a balcony date tonight and he likes it this way, so I’ll just use a headband.”

“Then I guess my work here is done,” Francisco replied with a chuckle that Carla echoed as she moved again and gave him space to get up.

She threw him one last, thankful smile as he picked up the empty tray and left. As soon as the door closed, she sighed, flopped back onto the bed. While speaking with her Abuelo had helped to put some things into perspective, actually _talking_ with Esteban would be a different story. Knowing the reasons behind his words didn’t make them sting any less and the point remained that he had hurt her and that, for her, forgiveness rarely came easy.

But, in the same vein, Carla knew she wouldn’t even be where she was – surrounded by people who loved her unconditionally in a huge palace where she had a warm bed, good food and more clothes than she ever dreamed of owning – if everyone hadn’t given her that second chance, Esteban included. She wasn’t the best at expressing it but was beyond thankful for everything she’d been given.

She rolled over on her side, trailed her finger along the blanket. Francisco was right. While she didn’t necessarily have to forgive Esteban, at the very least, she could do as Abuelo asked and hear him out when he came to talk to her. It was only fair.

* * *

Once Carla had resolved to try and give Esteban a chance, the only thing left to do was wait until he came to her. She supposed that if she wanted to, she could have sought him out herself, but her pride refused to falter. _He_ was the one that hurt her, so he had to be big enough to apologise. It weighed on her most of the day, even when Gabe arrived with their dinner and some things to dress up the table Carla magically moved to the balcony.

By the time they settled down to eat, she’d set it up with the tablecloth, candles and flower vase he’d brought along in a way that was as cute and simple as they wanted their date to be.

“Are you okay?” Gabe asked, picked one of the two trays up and off the cart.

“Of course I’m okay. Why?” Carla replied, watched while he set her food down and then waited for him to grab his own.

“You just seem a little off. Still thinking about earlier?”

“A little,” Carla shrugged, looked over her dinner. She had smelled it when he came in but looking at it made her even more eager to indulge in the tortilla soup he’d made. She would never tell either her Papa or Abuela, but she thought Gabe’s recipe was the best.

He set down his own tray, said as he grabbed the final one from the cart and placed it in the middle of the table, “Did something happen?”

She reached over, picked up the plate of avocado slices from the tray he had set up as a miniature topping bar. “Kind of. Abuelo came to talk to me earlier. Remember when you suggested that Esteban was insecure?”

Gabe nodded, took the plate she held out and handed over the cup of cheese in his own hand.

“He expanded on that and put some things into perspective.”

“But?”

“But I still want an apology.”

 _‘You’ll get one,’_ He thought, set down the plate and then reached over for her empty glass, watching as she first set the cheese down and then made a move to grab her spoon, her eyebrow raising when she saw a piece of paper on the tray where her glass had been.

 _‘Hm?’_ Carla picked up the paper printed with her name and flipped the small card open just as Gabe placed her now filled glass back in its spot.

“What’s that?”

“A note,” She said, carefully folding the paper again and setting it to the side. “It says to come to the kitchen after dinner.”

“Why?” Gabe asked, hoping that he sounded genuine enough that she wouldn’t notice he had an idea of why she was given that note. When he was making the soup, Elena had wandered into the kitchen looking first confused and then inspired when she saw the half-finished trays set up on the counter. She hadn’t said much. The most he could get out of her was that she and Esteban had a surprise for Carla before she asked if she could leave the card on Carla’s dinner tray. But he figured that, because Elena mentioned him, it had something to do with Esteban giving a well-deserved apology.

“It didn’t say. But when I get requests like that, it’s usually because I’m either being punished with dish duty or because Abuela needs me,” She explained and then took her first spoonful of soup, smiled to herself when she caught the familiar, comforting taste.

He raised a curious eyebrow. “They don’t ever say which?”

“Nope.” She scooped another spoonful. “I guess she thinks if she says why, I’ll try and get out of it.”

He pointed to her with his spoon, said knowingly, “Because you would.”

She gave him one of those signature smiles. “Maybe,” She said, dragging the word out innocently and then giggling when he merely shook his head and turned back to his soup.

Turning her own focus to dinner as well, Carla picked up a piece of fried polenta from her tray and dipped it in, deciding as she did so that, because their conversations had centred so much on her that day, to ask him about the plans for the Navidad party he wanted to host for his squad. But, before she could ask, her eyes fell on the note again.

She stared at it for a moment, thoughts about what could be waiting in the kitchen threatening to take over her mind as she took another bite of polenta, the taste quickly snapping her out of that thought process. The note had said to come after dinner, so there was no use lingering on it. She pushed it aside, turned to Gabe and asked the question she had in mind.

Whatever was in the kitchen wasn’t important at the moment, not when she had a lovely dinner date to enjoy with her boyfriend.

* * *

Because she was going to the kitchen anyway, Carla offered to take the cart back after her and Gabe’s dinner date. She sent him back off to his office with a warm hug and a kiss before making her way downstairs, humming to herself as she expertly navigated the various corridors. Even after six months living there full time, there were parts of the palace she did still get lost in, but for the most part, she had figured out the important routes to places like the library, kitchen, workshop, and the family’s respective bedrooms.

As she took the final turn that would lead to the kitchen door, she was again struck by the thought of what was waiting for her beyond it. She couldn’t remember doing anything wrong that day, but also wasn’t sure what Luisa could possibly need her for, given that the note looked like her handwriting.

“I guess I’ll know in a minute,” Carla said to herself as she turned around and pushed open the door with her back as she pulled the cart in.

“ _Surprise_!” A chorus of voices shouted so loud that Carla jumped at the sound.

Her heart still slamming against her chest, she whipped around just as the door smacked against the cart still sitting in its path, found that, instead of the one or two people she had expected, there were _five_ waiting for her, all of them looking positively elated about whatever they had set up.

“What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?!” She snapped, leaned back against the cart to take a breath.

“Sorry,” Elena said with an awkward smile.

“We just wanted to surprise you,” Francisco explained.

Carla sighed, pulled the cart the rest of the way in. “Well, mission accomplished.”

“Didn’t you get the note?” Luisa asked. She remembered Elena saying that she left it with Gabe, and he was usually reliable. Had it maybe got pushed aside by mistake? Had Carla really not been expecting them?

“I did, but I thought it would be just you,” Carla said and then looked up at the rest of the group, “What are you all doing here, anyway?”

“Why don’t you look around and figure it out?” Elena teased.

Carla wanted to say something but held back in favour of taking the time to look around the kitchen – from the newly hung Navidad decorations to the chocolate that Isabel was stirring at the stove and the counter that was set up with various jars of sprinkles, chocolate chips and other decorations, along with the bowl of cake scraps from earlier.

Seeing the confused look on her face, Esteban finally stepped forward to explain, “I thought you deserved more than just words, though I am truly sorry for what I said.” He took a moment before continuing, forced down the urge to wince when Carla immediately crossed her arms in defence. He couldn’t blame her for keeping her guard up, especially after what he’d told her.

Carla immediately realised that she probably shouldn’t have been so quick to jump into a defensive stance but couldn’t help it. Her old instincts – the ones that told her to be wary of others’ words – had a bad habit of cropping up during times like this. Plus, with Esteban, she sometimes didn’t know what to expect. She kept quiet though, did her best to remember what Francisco told her about just _listening_.

“I was just… ” Esteban continued, trailing off as he searched for the right words. “Insecure. And maybe a little jealous. I know it’s petty, but you have to understand. I _just_ got my family and our traditions back a few years ago. They mean a lot to me. So much so that, I guess I forgot to be flexible.”

“And?” Luisa pressed, stepping up to set a hand on his back.

“ _And_ that family isn’t purely defined by blood. It’s defined by connection and emotions and other things I’m not always good at. And I’m sorry that I didn’t see that before. You _are_ a part of this family, Carla. It wasn’t right of me to leave you out of our traditions, or snap at you for wanting to try something new.” 

Her inner defensiveness still trying to push its way up, Carla met Esteban’s gaze head-on despite the height difference, her eyebrows furrowing just slightly as she processed his words.

Though he seemed uncomfortable doing so, he kept his eyes on hers, hoping that she could see the sincerity in his words.

Slowly, she relaxed, let out a breath she didn’t realise she’d been holding. Both the tone of his voice and the apologetic look in his eyes conveyed that his words were genuine and that, despite a little bit of pressing from Luisa, they were his own. As angry as she had been earlier, she knew that she couldn’t hold a grudge. Between his apology, her conversation with Francisco and the fact that she knew keeping those feelings would only make things worse.

Finally, she said simply, “I forgive you.”

He let out a sigh of relief, his lips slowly turning back up into a smile. “I’m glad to hear that, because if you didn’t, it might ruin your surprise.”

“What surprise?” Carla asked.

“I did say you deserved more than words, didn’t I?” Esteban said and took a step back.

“Esteban thought we should make cake pops together once you show us how,” Luisa explained, coming up to Carla with a new apron and hair tie in hand.

Carla smiled, went to take both items, and stopped when Luisa moved behind her and first slipped the apron over her head, and then pulled a hairbrush from her pocket and used it to brush Carla’s hair back before gathering it and tying it into a low ponytail at the base of her neck. Once that was done, they both made their way to the counter where Carla looked over the setup, touched both the frosting and cake bowls.

“Good, they’re still cold,” She muttered before turning to the group. “They’re easier to shape when they’re cold, so this is perfect. Elena, can you crumble up the cake? And Esteban? Can you get us a baking sheet with wax paper?”

They both nodded, got to work on their small task as Carla looked to Luisa. “Where do we keep those sticks we use for the chocolate lollipops? The small ones for the kids’ flowers?”

“I’ll get them,” Luisa said, crossed the kitchen to the appropriate drawer.

Carla smiled, followed her to grab a few bowls from a nearby shelf. “And Abuelo? I’m going to need your help putting some of the decorations into bowls. You need to work fast with cake pops and sticking our hands in jars just isn’t practical.”

“Of course, _Cariña_ ,” He said with a smile of his own, waited while she set down the bowls.

“Just make sure some of the chips and pretzel pieces actually make it _into_ the bowls,” She teased.

Luisa laughed, said as she set down the bag of lollipop sticks, “I’ll help and keep an eye on him.”

Carla giggled in response, went to check on Isabel and the chocolate and then to help Elena with first crumbling up the cake and then measuring out and adding the frosting. “Make sure it’s all mixed together. No dry pieces. You can always add more frosting if you need it.”

Elena nodded and together, they made sure everything was properly combined before gathering the rest of the family together to shape the mixture into small balls that they laid on the sheet Esteban had prepared.

“After this, we put them in the cold closet for about two hours,” Carla informed them, wiped her hands with a rag.

“And what do we do until then?” Elena asked.

“Clean up and have cocoa in the parlour, of course!” Luisa declared.

Carla gasped as an idea came to mind, said before thinking it through, “Why don’t we put the decorations and chocolate on a cart? Then we can make it a party! Sort of.”

“How do we keep the chocolate warm, then?” Esteban asked, raising an eyebrow at the look Carla gave him.

“I have a spell for that.”

* * *

Fortunately, the spell to keep the chocolate warm was a simple beginner spell, much to Esteban’s relief. Despite knowing she had been training for awhile now, he could still be wary of her magic, especially when used around the palace for more than hanging decorations. But the warming spell served its purpose well in keeping the chocolate just the right temperature for Carla to show them first how to dip the sticks in before putting them in the cake balls and then how to act fast in dipping the balls and then tossing toppings on.

“It hardens fast, so you have to know what you want before you even do the chocolate,” She said, dunking one of the pops in alongside Isabel. Once she pulled it out, she let the excess drip off and then quickly turned it over while tossing sprinkles over the coating. “Then you set them down here.”

She placed her pop down on the new sheet they’d brought in with the cart, continued once she was sure it would stand, “And let it sit for about an hour or so.”

“ _More_ waiting?” Francisco sighed and Luisa nudged him.

“Yes, Abuelo. More waiting,” Carla teased. “But that means more time for stories and you never finished telling me the one about how _Los Tres_ stopped those jewellery store thieves.”

“Only because you fell asleep on me,” Francisco said, picking up one of the uncoated pops. “Besides, as I’ve told you before, I only tell those stories at…”

Carla sighed, continued for him, “Sick time and tuck-in time.”

“I guess that means you owe her a story tonight,” Elena said, pointing to him with her own sprinkle-covered treat.

“You know, I still have trouble believing you were that kind of adventurer.” Esteban chuckled, dipped a third pop into the chocolate.

“Believe it,” Luisa said. “He was always getting into some kind of trouble then. I can’t remember how many fights I patched you up after.”

Francisco gave a sheepish smile at the embarrassing memory that made everyone else laugh as they passed around topping bowls and continued to dip and top the pops until the tray was filled. By the time they were done, the first few they made were ready. Carla set six of them aside, then picked up the tray and set it on the cart while Elena and Isabel helped gather up the decorations and Luisa poured another round of cocoa.

“Ready?” Carla asked after everyone picked up their treats, waiting until they all nodded before giving a nod of her own as a silent cue to dig in, revelling in the way each member of the family contemplated the taste before breaking into their own smiles.

“I never thought I’d say this, Miss Delgado, but your baking is even better than Elena’s,” Esteban said, throwing his cousin a teasing smile. “Not that that’s hard to accomplish.”

Elena nudged him in response. She knew her baking wasn’t the best. It never had been. Her cooking on the other hand – where she could play around more with flavours and spices – was excellent.

Carla laughed, took another bite of her own cake pop as she looked around the room, took in the well-placed decorations and perfectly coordinated tree she’d helped Elena and Luisa set up. They all practically glowed in the cosy lighting that mirrored the warmth and laughter among the family she felt beyond blessed to be spending the season with. There was just _one_ piece missing.

She didn’t let it get her down though. The letter she had received from her father that morning said he would be home in time for the Navidad festival. Of course, she hadn’t told anyone else yet, nor did she plan to. She liked the idea of keeping it a secret surprise, merely smiled to herself at the thought of having a warm, family holiday, especially now that she felt more comfortable than ever being called a part of her chosen family. 


End file.
